2014 Wandering and Wondering event in the Seattle Japanese Garden, photo by Brian Jones

From 2-5 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 16, visit the Seattle Japanese Garden for its Wandering and Wondering event. Wander through the garden and wonder at the sights and sounds emerging from the landscape. Experience the beauty and tranquility of the garden in a unique way.

2014 Wandering and Wondering event in the Seattle Japanese Garden, photo by Brian Jones

Visitors will encounter dancers and musicians dispersed in locations throughout the garden as the performers engage in a minute-by-minute response to all the scents, sounds, sights and sensations of the garden. This annual summer event is directed by Joan Laage, director of Kogut Butoh. [Read more…]

The Garden Party is the premier event of the season at the Seattle Japanese Garden, and tickets are on sale now. From 6-8:30 p.m. on Friday, July 24, the Japanese Garden will serve as a backdrop for an elegant Japanese dinner served with fine wine and sake. The event is one of the garden’s largest fundraisers. Proceeds support vital programs and community events at the garden.

Garden Party guests will have the opportunity to participate in a traditional Nodate outdoor tea ceremony and read artfully installed haiku as they stroll the garden. There will be a flute performance by White Swan label recording artist Gary Strousos, traditional koto music performed by pianist Chris Kenji Beer and a traditional Japanese dance by Fujima Fujimine Dance Ensemble.

Experience family-fun surrounded by the beautiful scenery at Seattle Japanese Garden on Sunday, May 31, when the garden hosts its annual Children’s Day event.

From 11 a.m.-3 p.m. there will be live entertainment and a variety of hands-on activity stations to give visitors of all ages an opportunity to enjoy Japanese cultural traditions. The Seattle Japanese Garden is located at 1075 Lake Washington Blvd. S. [Read more…]

Join us at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 1 as the Seattle Japanese Garden celebrates First Viewing, a re-opening event welcoming the general public inside the gates for the first time in 2015.

First Viewing begins with the dramatic flair of a Shinto blessing. The Shinto blessing is a formal ceremony that has been conducted in Japan since ancient times. The blessing will usher in auspicious ki –life energy– for a successful new year and will be conducted by Reverend Koichi Barrish of Tsubaki Grand Shrine in Granite Falls, WA.

Trained guides will be available to give complimentary tours of the Seattle Japanese Garden, deepening the experience of strolling the garden by sharing insights on the garden’s history, design and spiritual principles. The 45-minute tours begin at the ticket booth starting at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.[Read more…]

The Seattle Japanese Garden will celebrate Respect for Elders Day on Monday, September 15, 2014. In honor of this Japanese holiday, seniors age 65 and older will receive free admission to the garden.

Complimentary guided tours will be available starting at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m. on that day.

All visitors are welcome to experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony in the Tateuchi Community Room at the Garden Gatehouse. The room is wheelchair accessible and chairs will be provided. Ceremonies start at 2 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m. Tea ceremony tickets are $7 per person, and can be purchased in advanced by calling the ticket booth at 206-684-4725.

The Seattle Japanese Garden is located at 1075 Lake Washington Blvd. E. For driving directions and detailed information about the garden, please visit www.seattlejapanesegarden.org.

Experience traditional Noh theater in a performance at the Seattle Japanese Garden on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The garden will be open for twilight viewing at 5:30 p.m.

Munenori Takeda and the Takeda Noh Troupe will present three Noh vignettes that will give the audience a glimpse of their upcoming performance at Seattle’s ACT Theatre. The performance, entitled “The Universality of Noh: Crossing Borders on Stage,” will be on the Moon Viewing Stage in the garden with seating in the orchard. Bring a blanket or tatami mat to sit on.

Munenori Takeda was born into a family of pre-eminent Noh actors belonging to the Kanze School, which traces its roots to the 1300s in Japan. He is widely recognized as one of the most talented young Noh performers in Japan today.

Tickets are $10, and on sale now at the Garden, or by phone at 206-684-4725, or at the gate on Sept. 25. The Seattle Japanese Garden is located at 1075 Lake Washington Blvd. S, Seattle WA.

The event is sponsored by the Seattle Japanese Garden Advisory Council, the Japan World Exposition1910 Commemorative Fund, Kansai Osaka 21st Century Association, the Toshiba Foundation, the Asahi Shinbun Foundation, the Japan Arts Connection Lab, and Seattle Parks and Recreation.

From 7-10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6, the Seattle Japanese Garden will light up lanterns, luminaries and floating boats to welcome the full moon in keeping with Japanese tradition.

The community is invited to this enchanted event that will take place after-hours in the garden. Traditional Japanese dances will be performed by the Fujima Fujimine Dance Ensemble and music will be played on shakuhachi and koto by James Jennings, Marcia Takamura and Chigusa Kitai.

Evocative movement art will be performed by Kogut Butoh, and Haiku Northwest will host a poetry writing contest.

Visitors can get a special look at the moon through telescopes provided by the Seattle Astronomical Society.

Three tea ceremonies, led by Tankokai, will be held in the Shoseian Teahouse in the garden.

Artist Lisa Snow Lady, left, leads a tour through the Volunteer Park Conservatory where she is teaching a Lifelong Recreation class this spring.

Last year Mary Hsu was traveling in Japan when she came across a woman sightseeing with an open sketch pad in front of her.

“She was making the most beautiful drawings,” Hsu said. “I thought to myself, I want to do that.”

Last week, Hsu was at the Volunteer Park Conservatory for a sketching and watercolor course taught by artist Lisa Snow Lady. The class, offered through Seattle Parks and Recreation Lifelong Recreation, teaches participants how to document their individual journeys through drawings and paintings.

Snow Lady is a visual artist and has a degree in ornamental horticulture. She said teaching a class in Volunteer Park is a perfect way to draw on all of her strengths.

“I want the class to be loose sketching, like you’re traveling,” Snow Lady said. “We have plenty of places to explore right here: the Cactus House, the Palm House. We can pretend we’re somewhere exotic.”

Participant Linda Pauw earned an art degree in college and recently started drawing again.

“I have seen Lisa’s travel sketchbooks, and I’m in awe of them,” Pauw said.

Many of the students have past artistic experience and are looking to sharpen their skills. Student Pam Generaux taught art for 30 years in Seattle schools but had never received formal watercolor training.

“I love being a part of a class and exchanging ideas,” Generaux said.

Generaux demonstrates that it’s never too late to learn a new skill or improve an existing talent. The Lifelong Recreation course is designed to be a relaxed atmosphere where people can feel comfortable exploring their surroundings.

“It doesn’t matter if you make a mistake,” Snow Lady said. “It’s just paper, and it’s just ink.”

Snow Lady requires participants to use pens for sketching so they’re not tempted to erase and work under the constraints of perfection.

This class, which is also offered in the Japanese Garden, was created three years ago. Lifelong Recreation Specialist Cheryl Brown said she’d like to see participation increase.

“This is one of the few opportunities we have to use these venues,” she said. “This has been a great partnership that has opened up the doors of these beautiful specialty spaces to artists of all kinds.”

Student Shari Congdon said the location was one thing that drew her to the class.

“What a great opportunity to come to a beautiful place and sketch.”

Another art course held in the Japanese Garden and Volunteer Park will be offered this summer.

Lifelong Recreation offers a wide range of fitness and social programs designed for people 50 years or older; however, this specific art class is open to anyone over 18. Summer registration opens on May 20.

The Seattle Japanese Garden’s 2014 season opens on Saturday, March 1 with a celebration from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. To ensure a wonderful season, Reverend Koichi Barrish of the Tsubaki Grand Shrine will honor the Japanese Garden with the traditional Shinto blessing at noon.

This 3 ½ acre formal garden evokes another time and place, a unique and artistic representation of nature influenced by Shinto, Buddhist, and Tao philosophies. Designed and built under the supervision of world-renowned Japanese garden designer Juki Iida in 1960, the garden is a quiet place, allowing reflection and meditation through the careful placement of water, garden plants, stones, waterfalls, trees and bridges.

Admission fees for First Viewing are: $10 for adults 18-64, $5 for youths 6–17, senior adults 65+, college students with ID, and people with disabilities, and free for kids younger than 6.

For free, the community is invited to enjoy the opening of a beautiful new photography exhibit “A Celebration of Spring” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Tateuchi Community Room. The juried show also on March 1 celebrates nine photographers and their fantastic views of the Garden from a spring workshop in 2013.

The Japanese Garden offers monthly tea presentations and demonstration at the Tea House and other great community events during the March -November season when it is open to the public

First Viewing: Celebrate the reopening of the Seattle Japanese Garden!
The Seattle Japanese Garden’s 2013 season opens on Sunday, March 3 with a traditional Shinto blessing and a calligraphy workshop.

To ensure a wonderful season, Reverend Koichi Barrish of the Tsubaki Grand Shrine will honor the Japanese Garden with the traditional Shinto blessing, and Meito Shodo Kai’s hands-on calligraphy workshop will offer visitors an opportunity to create elegant Japanese calligraphy.

The Shinto Blessing begins at noon and the drop-in calligraphy workshop takes place from 1-3 p.m. Both events are free with Japanese Garden admission.

Admission fees for First Viewing are: $10 for adults 18-64, $5 for Youths 6–17, Senior Adults 65+, College students with ID, & people with disabilities, and free for kids younger than 6.

Can’t make it to First Viewing?
Visit the Japanese Garden on Sunday, March 10 for the opening of Autumn Impressions, a juried show of 13 photographers’ views of the Seattle Japanese Garden captured in the October 2012 Photography Workshop. From 1-3 p.m., this casual event will celebrate the photographers and their fantastic views of the Garden. There is no admission charge for the Autumn Impressions opening event.

This 3 ½ acre formal garden evokes another time and place, a unique and artistic representation of nature influenced by Shinto, Buddhist, and Tao philosophies. Designed and built under the supervision of world-renowned Japanese garden designer Juko Iida in 1960, the garden is a quiet place, allowing reflection and meditation through the careful placement of water, garden plants, stones, waterfalls, trees, and bridges.

The Japanese Garden offers occasional tea ceremonies and other events during the March -November season when it is open to the public. Information: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/japanesegarden.htm.